He is one of the 280 farmers there seriously affected by the prolonged drought.
Pasture covers are low across the district, reaching an average of 1700-1800kg drymatter a hectare with the worst affected at 1200kg DM/ha.
He is feeding his 1000 cows spread across two neighbouring farms 100% supplements. In a typical year he would start feeding his herd supplements in mid February. This year the dry summer forced him to start that a month early.
“We’re normally a system 2. This year we’ve been pretty much a system 5 with no result.
“We’ve been feeding all the way through and are still feeding for a long time yet.”
Typically, his pastures would have 2200-2300kg DM/ha at this time of year.
Those covers are now at 1100kg DM/ha. His better paddocks have been shut up for calving and even those have big, brown, bare patches.
“And that’s our better stuff,” he said.
He dried the herd off in mid April and is operating on a 235-day pasture round.
He is feeding out palm kernel at 6kg a cow a day and 3.5kg/day of maize and a small amount of kiwifruit.
“We’re feeding them anything we can get our hands on this year.”
In terms of cost it was an open chequebook, Aitchison said.
“In dollar terms we would be $250,000 above what we normally would feed at this time and we are still looking at another $150,000 in supplement solely because we’re a grass-based system and rely heavily on grass.”
That cost does not include undersowing his pastures to get them back to normal.
He is six weeks out from calving and his number one priority is ensuring his cows are in proper condition for calving and reducing the impact the drought will have on the new season.
It will also affect the new season’s production. Aitchison will have a massive feed deficit and will have to put his herd on once-a-day milking in spring till his pastures recover.
“We won’t have grass covers by then and that’s the only way we can do it. It’s about trying to salvage next season.”
Farmers have also destocked as much as possible. Any more stock reductions will mean cutting into their capital stock, affecting milk production and pasture use.
Any rain between now and calving, while greatly needed, will merely soften that feed deficit and financial blow, he said.
Fellow Plains farmers Brian and Julie Pirie said their and Aitchison’s combined supplementary feed spend is greater than the latest funding the Government has put aside to help drought-affected farmers.
“Between him and I we’ve paid out more than what the Government grant is. Our two farms would have blown more than half a million dollars of extra feed that we have had to bring in to keep our businesses going,” Brian said.
Julie said the length of time without rain has surprised everyone, including those who set aside feed reserves over summer and autumn.
The drought is very specific. Farms south of Ngatea on clay soils are the worst affected. A major concern now is that when there is heavy rain it will turn that area from a dustbowl to a bog.
The traditionally wet nature of farming on the Plains means most farmers have lower stocking rates than normal as well as having feed-out infrastructure such as a feedpad to protect pastures.
“That’s why it’s hard. We’re set up for the worst situation and when that worst situation becomes even worse the levers that you can pull are reduced,” Julie said.
The couple organised a series of meetings to support affected farmers. So far, they are doing just that.
Farmers from other districts had also pitched in with feed. Waikato Federated Farmers dairy chairman Ben Moore helped co-ordinate a feed drive that collected 1200-1300 maize stubble straw bales and 300-400 grass silage bales.
This feed was not donated but bought and paid for at $40-$60 for square bales and $100 for the grass silage, including cartage.
Morale is holding up now affected farmers realise they are not alone, she said.
“People aren’t asking for handouts, they’re asking for empathy.”
Federated Farmers Hauraki-Coromandel president Kevin Robinson said what is particularly demoralising for those farmers is that regular forecasts for rain keep missing drought-affected areas.
They build up then destro farmers’ expectations, he said.
“It’s so disappointing as that the expectation is that we’re finally going to get some rain and then it doesn’t happen and that’s going on for six weeks now.
“My concern is that if we don’t get substantial rain this week some farmers are going to hit the wall.
“This is not one of your average droughts when it gets dry for a month or two and then it rains and you’re right. To be this dry at this time of year coming into June – I’ve never experienced it in my lifetime as a farmer – it’s unique.”
The situation has prompted the region’s three councils, Thames-Coromandel, Matamata-Piako and Hauraki to write to Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor asking for the cartage costs of supplementary feed to be reduced.
They are yet to receive a reply.
